Dutch Oven Pork Shoulder

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 3,000 g pork shoulder, nicely marbled
• 4 clove(s) garlic, chopped
• 50 ml chili sauce, green, (e.g. Pain is Good “Honey-Cayenne”)
• 2 tsp Paprika powder, hot, ideal smoked
• 2 tsp sea salt, coarse
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp mustard, hot
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1 tbsp marjoram, shredded
• 1 tbsp sauce (liquid smoke)
• 150 ml BBQ sauce
• 750 ml beer, dark
• 1 liter vegetable broth
• 1 large onion(s), cut into large pieces
• 2 stalk(s) leeks, cleaned, large pieces
• 6 carrots, cleaned, large pieces
• 1 sprig(s) rosemary, fresh
• 5 bay leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 3 hours 30 minutes

Pork shoulder braised in the Dutch oven in the embers – wonderfully juicy

Make a marinade with garlic, chili sauce, paprika powder, sea salt, honey, mustard, oil, marjoram, and liquid smoke sauce. Wash the pork shoulder and pat dry. Rub the meat with the marinade and let it sit for an hour (room temperature is fine). Clean and roughly chop the vegetables. Method 1: Light a proper fire with hardwood in a fire bowl or brick fire pit outside. After 40-60 minutes, you’ll have nice glowing wood scraps/coal. Method 2: Stack the barbecue briquettes, light them, and create a decent ember. Method 3: Place the Dutch oven in a gas grill directly on the cast iron burners. I used a size 10 Dutch oven, with a pot capacity of approximately 7 liters. The Dutch oven is an uncoated cast iron pot with a cast iron lid. Both parts have “feet” that allow you to place them directly into the embers at this distance. Brown the marinated meat in an uncovered pot for about 10 minutes on each side. Add the vegetables and brown them as well. Add the rosemary and bay leaves. Deglaze the meat with the beer. Be careful, the pot will be so hot that it will boil/splutter immediately. Close the pot, use a shovel or poker to remove some of the embers around the bottom, and place a few embers on the lid instead. Now it takes a bit of practice to find the right time to add more liquid. I use a mixture of vegetable broth with BBQ sauce, and if necessary, add more beer. Play around with adding and removing the embers, checking on them every now and then (use the Dutch oven’s special lid lifter). After 90, or more likely 120 minutes, the meat is done; the vegetables, broth, and beer have cooked down to a dark brown, incredibly rich sauce. The meat will be wonderfully tender and juicy, with an intense, dark and firm crust on the outside. Caution: Handling over an open flame requires some precautions; long gloves protect against burns. Keep an eye on children, though, as they can also have a lot of fun participating in the fire cooking process. It’s a laborious but intensely flavorful experience, ideal for balmy evenings in the garden with friends.